Monday, May 10, 2010

The Queensland Reds, who enjoyed such a good run of form in this year’s Super 14, have now fallen out of the top four and have very little chance of progressing any further after the Hurricanes thumped them 44-21 on the weekend. This massive hit perhaps summed up the night for the Reds.

The Hurricanes leapfrogged the Reds into the top four with the convincing victory, with wing Hosea Gear picking up a hat trick as the hosts produced a second half blitz that included 31 unanswered points.

The Reds have played beyond their means this season, with injury problems and a new captain, but it looks as though their moment in the sun is over as they’re now sitting at seventh on the table.

As they tried in vain to pick up something from the match, replacement hooker Sean Hardman got absolutely rocked by this big tackle from the Hurricanes’ Jacob Ellison.

Ellison got the better of the collision with Hardman, who will soon be playing his last match for the Reds, against the Highlanders this coming weekend.

Hardman is their most capped player, and a good team man who they’ll be looking to send off on a high with a good win.

"We want to send off Sean Hardman the right way and others who won't be here next year. We've taken a lot of pride in the things we've achieved this season but we don't want to just slip out the back door," said Reds captain Will Genia.

Given the Polynesian stock of the tackler, I wouldn't have been surprised if the Ref gave him a card for a swinging arm high tackle into the player's head, following by a citing commissioner's 4 week ban.